How to Stay Afloat

~36: Where She Gets Him a Cookie~

CHAPTER 36:

Where She Gets Him a Cookie

~~**~~

It was past 8 P.M when I finally left Caroline's house. My mind was still swirling with ideas about how I should ask Archer to go to prom with me.

I knew he didn't like a lot of attention. He wasn't exactly into flashy things. Archer's love language was small acts of service. So I made up my mind. I knew that even though he refused to admit it he was secretly obsessed with the dark chocolate cookies I sometimes brought home from the café. I saw the way his eyes lit up every time I offered them to him and how he ate them slowly like he was savoring each bite.

I stepped into the café, and the cheerful chime of the bell announced my arrival. Sofia looked up from the counter her eyes widened in surprise upon seeing me at the café on my day off.

"Hi, Sofia." I smiled and greeted my manager.

She gave me a warm smile of her own. "What brings you here today Fallon?"

My eyes brightened. "I need a custom cookie. A large twelve-inch dark chocolate one."

I bit my lip as my smile widened. "I need you to write the letters P R O M on it and add a question mark in the end."

~~**~~

I struggled with the box containing my modest little promposal as I climbed the steps to my apartment. I hoped with all my heart that Archer liked it. I couldn't wait to hand him the box and see the look on his face when he opened it.

I unlocked the door and stepped inside. It was eerily quiet.

"Hello?" I called out but no one answered. No one was home? My eyebrows scrunched in confusion. Archer should have been home by now.

I jumped in surprise as the sound of my ringtone cut through the silence of my apartment.

I placed the cookie box on the kitchen counter and fished the phone out of my bag. I sighed in relief when I saw Archer's name flash across the screen.

"Hey, baby." His voice rasped as soon as I picked up.

"Hi," I murmured softly.

"How was your day with the girls?" He asked.

I smiled. "Amazing."

"I missed you though," I told him truthfully.

He sighed. "Yeah. Me too, love."

"So when are you coming back home? Soon I hope?" I asked hopefully as I glanced at the cookie box.

He sighed again. "That's why I called you. They're making me work an extra shift here so I won't be in till late."

I could feel the disappointment making my heart sink.

"Just don't burn yourself out, okay?" I told him.

I knew that between pulling extra shifts at work and studying for his AP mechanics final he barely even had time to breathe these days.

He laughed softly. "I won't. Don't worry about me. Go to sleep, okay? You've been up since the crack of dawn."

"And whose fault is that?" I demanded, my cheeks heating as I recalled exactly how I'd woken up with his head between my thighs.

"Go to sleep. Don't wait up for me." His voice suddenly grew gruffer, probably recalling our early morning escapade himself.